Hanumakonda: Warangal West MLA Naini Rajender Reddy stated on Sunday that the country experienced a golden era during the Congress government’s tenure and that better governance was provided to marginalised sections.

Opposing the introduction of a Bill by the Centre seeking to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the MGNREGA, and following the call given by the AICC and TPCC, he, along with Congress activists, paid floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Public Garden here. Subsequently, he participated in the protest along with partymen.

The MLA said that the MGNREGS is not merely a welfare scheme, but a legally guaranteed right. “Through the scheme, migration from rural areas reduced and local employment opportunities been created. The scheme gained nationwide recognition for empowering women with financial independence. It acted like a protective shield for dalits, tribals and BCs. The scheme played a crucial role in sustaining the rural economy,” he said.

The MLA demanded that Mahatma’s name should not be removed from the scheme; ‘a truly developed India is possible only by ensuring people’s rights,’ he said.

Naini alleged that changing names of laws serves only political propaganda and offers no real benefit to people. He accused the Centre of completely failing over the past 11 months to allocate adequate budget for the scheme. “By reducing the number of workdays and delaying wage payments, the livelihoods of the poor were severely affected,” he said.

He criticised the Centre for introducing new names and new missions to weaken a scheme meant to provide employment to the poor.